Bamboo has been and continues to be used for building as a structural material. It is known to satisfy a variety of construction needs, surviving time, earthquakes, windstorms and other natural disasters.
Throughout history, man has been concerned in developing construction methods and technologies which will solve the high demand for shelter with efficiency and with low environmental impact. It is therefore advantageous to find a practical joinery system for the use of natural bamboo poles, and also use with natural tree poles. The bamboo plant itself provides many benefits to the growing environment, and can provide many uses besides construction material, such as food value for human and livestock. The benefits of bamboo plant production include protection of water resources, erosion control, and having generation of natural woodland faster than any other forestry resource, and has perpetual self-regeneration. Harvesting never kills the plant which preserves the ecosystem over time.
There is also the potential of high economic impact for regional development for the generation of raw material capital wealth and employment without the use of high cost and damaging effects of heavy equipment and massive industrial processing.
In other counties the joining of bamboo in construction has enabled a wide range of possibilities due to low cost labor using traditions of tools and techniques that require knowledge and skill not found in North America. The search for prior art in the US and internationally that relates to most construction inadequately addresses the unique characteristics of bamboo in a practical and industry competitive way.
Traditional means of joining are not acceptable in the Uniform Building Code at this time in the US.
Contemporary systems are not practical for wide range application and acceptance as a means of utilizing bamboo as an alternative to conventional ways of construction by building professionals, and trade workers. This is due to high labor costs of highly skilled workers. US 2010/0083605 (Wallner) describes a system having connectors but can only utilize a 3 foot maximum length of bamboo pole before requiring a bulky laminated wood joint having epoxy adhesive and uses more material than 20 feet of bamboo, thus making the bamboo material use much less significant. Wallner does not teach a connector assembly comprising pivotally connected connector elements or connector elements comprising conformable members configured to conform to the irregularities of bamboo. No prior art addresses the irregularities of the long useable lengths of natural bamboo poles with an adjustable means of compensating for the irregularities with an off the shelf system.